Portsmouth ready to finally end loan reliance on goalkeepers after Manchester City, West Brom and Luton temporary measures

But Rich Hughes has warned that ambition will hinge on successfully identifying the ‘right type and right profile’.

Since the Blues released Craig MacGillivray in the summer of 2021, they have focused on the loan market for their number one.

Gavin Bazunu, Josh Griffiths and now Matt Macey have subsequently arrived at Fratton Park to temporarily fill the Blues’ goalkeeping spot.

Pompey have, of course, enjoyed success in the past with a loanee in that position, namely David Forde during the 2016-17 League Two title-winning campaign.

But their sporting director will explore securing a permanent answer at the season’s end.

Hughes told The News: ‘One of the points of discussion we’ve had a lot of over the last four or so weeks is the loaning of goalkeepers.

‘There’s a salient argument to say that Gavin Bazunu was at the football club for a period of a year and did excellently. This year Josh Griffiths has done well, but gets recalled halfway through a season.

‘Sometimes it gets you an elite goalkeeper, with Gavin an international footballer and Josh and England youth player, but sometimes you are at the behest of another club who can call the player back.

‘It’s wrestling with that trade off of what happens in the interim. Does the opportunity of the loan supersede the level of another goalkeeper you may be able to get?

‘I think it’s a wider discussion point for the football club, but it’s one which I could probably go for both sides of the coin on different days. It’s tough.

‘Obviously if Josh wasn’t a loan goalkeeper we wouldn't be going through this scenario, but he had a good season for us and left a good impression, both as a person and a player.

‘If the right one was available and we felt we could help the group, signing one permanently next summer is always something we will look into.

‘We want to develop our players and, if we can have our goalkeeper playing well, that would be really beneficial for us.

‘But it has to be the right type and the right profile.’

Macey has shone during his three Pompey outings so far, earning man of the match for his performance at Peterborough this weekend.

Recruited by Luton from Hibernian in June for an undisclosed fee, the 28-year-old signed a two-year deal.

And Hughes revealed a permanent south-coast stay has not yet been discussed.

He added: ‘Potentially, it’s not a conversation which has been had too much, but if he does well and enjoys it then that’s always a good precursor to good things happening in football.

‘It’s up to us to provide him with a good platform and for him to do well – then it’s something we can revisit.’